Ann Arbor Observed: Selections from Then and Now

Lane Hall

Lane Hall From the YMCA to women’s studies If the walls of Lane Hall could talk, they might recall discussions on ethical, religious, and international topics and distinguished visitors such as Bertrand Russell, Reinhold Niebuhr, and the Dalai Lama. The elegantly understated Georgian colonial revival building on the southwest corner of State and Washington has been an intellectual center for student discussions since it was built. From 1917 to 1956 all varieties of religious topics were examined; from 1964 to 1997 it changed to an international focus. In October, after a major expansion and renovation, it was rededicated as the new home for women’s studies at the U-M. Lane Hall was built in 1916–17 by the U-M YMCA. Within a few years it came under the control of the university’s Student Christian Association (SCA), which included the campus branches of both the YMCA and the YWCA. In addition to organizing traditional religious activities, SCA published a student handbook, ran a rooming service, and helped students get jobs. Funded in part by a $60,000 gift from John D. Rockefeller, Lane Hall was named after Victor H. Lane, a law professor and former judge who was active in SCA. When it opened in 1917, students could read books on religion in the library; listen to music in the music room; meet with student pastors in individual offices; or attend functions, either in the 450-seat auditorium upstairs or the social room in the basement. SCA cooperated with area churches and also provided meeting places for groups that didn’t have a home church, such as Chinese Christians and Baha’is. But Lane Hall is most remembered for its own nondenominational programs, which were open to all students on campus. Some, like Bible study, had an obvious religious connection, but the programs also included the Fresh Air Camp (which enlisted U-M students to serve as big brothers to neglected boys), extensive services for foreign students, and eating clubs. Lane Hall became one of the most intellectually stimulating places on campus. “While the university was, much more than now, organized in tightly bounded disciplines and departments, our program was work66 ing with the connections between them, and particularly the ethical implications of those interconnections,” recalls C. Grey Austin, who was assistant coordinator of religious affairs in the 1950s. “Religion was similarly organized in clearly defined institutions, and we were working, again, with that fascinating area in which they touch one another.” With the coming of the Great Depression, many students struggled financially. In 1932, looking for a way to save money, a local activist named Sher Quraishi (later an advocate for postpartition Pakistan) organized the Wolverine Eating Club in the basement of Lane Hall. The club’s cook, Anna Panzner, recalled in a 1983 interview that they fed about 250 people three meals a day. She was assisted with the cooking by John Ragland, who later became the only black lawyer in town. About forty students helped with the prep and cleanup in exchange for free meals, while the rest paid $2.50 a week. Lane Hall itself had trouble keeping going during the Depression, often limping along without adequate staffing. Finally, in 1936, SCA gave Lane Hall to the university. The group didn’t stipulate the use of the building but said they hoped it might “serve the purpose for which it was originally intended, that is, a center of religious study and activities for all students in the university.” The university agreed and, while changing the name to Student Religious Association, kept and expanded the SCA programming. “The official head of Lane Hall would be a minister hired by the university , but the work was done by Edna Alber,” recalls Jerry Rees, who worked there in the 1950s. “Alber ran Lane Hall like a drill sergeant,” agrees Lew Towler, who was active in Lane Hall activities. “You’d try to stay on her good side.” The first university-hired director of Lane Hall was Kenneth Morgan. The high point of his tenure was a series of lectures, The Existence and Nature of God, given by Bertrand Russell, Fulton Sheen, and Reinhold Niebuhr. Morgan left during World War II and was replaced by Frank Littell. “He was a dynamic man who you either liked or didn’t,” recalls Jo Glass, who was active at Lane Hall after the war. “He made changes and left.” After Littell, DeWitt C. Baldwin, who had been...